I tried sleeping in this morning--really I did! My body's so
set on waking up at 8:00, though, that it's no use trying to convince it otherwise. :-) So up I bounced at 8:00,
ready to record yesterday's wonderful events. After I'd written everything down, sent the e-mail off to my family, and
posted a revised version on this website, I sat at my computer for awhile longer, researching some new London sights.
I've gone to all the big places that I wanted to visit in London (and believe me--I had quite a list!), but
people have been mentioning all sorts of smaller, out-of-the-way sights, and I figured that I was ready to do some in-depth
exploring. A museum called Sir John Soane's Museum interested me especially, so I decided to head there sometime today.
First, though, I went back to St. Martin-in-the-Fields for another
free, lunchtime concert. This time, a scholarship violinist from the Royal College of Music was performing with a brilliant
pianist. They played a Schumann sonata, Beethoven's "Kruetzer," and a short, lilting little piece by Kreisler.
The violinist was very impressive and very technically able. His execution and interpretation were both flawless,
but I couldn't help feeling that he lacked true passion and heart. The music was beautiful, but it just seemed to be
missing that special something that gives the greatest concerts a life of their own.
After the recital, I decided to embark on an adventure and try to search
out Sir John Soane's Museum. Luckily, I'd brought my mom's London guidebook along, and the maps it contains allowed
me to orient myself and find the museum. The fact that it was only a block from the nearest tube station helped,
too. :-) Anyway, the museum doesn't look very exciting from the outside, but inside, it becomes a strange new
world of its own. The building is huge (three or four stories high and quite wide), but all of the rooms are tiny, and
there are dozens of bizarre little nooks, passageways, hidden chambers, and odd architectural features. Because
of this, the museum staff only allows a few people in at a time and I was able to navigate many of the rooms on
my own. My imagination ran wild! (This would be the perfect place to set an old-fashioned mystery. . .)
The building is probably the most bizarre place I've ever visited.
Apparently, Sir John Soane was an eccentric architect who designed the Bank of England and adored collecting valuables.
When he died, he declared that nobody should ever rearrange his "museum." So nobody ever did, and everything is
exactly as the funny man left it. The "museum" is a hodge-podge of artifacts from around the world (crumbling Roman
statues, an Egyptian sarcophagus, the "Rake's Progress" paintings, etc.) all housed in uniquely-designed rooms. Every possible
shelf, wall, and desk is crammed with these valuables in the most helter-skelter sort of way. Peek into the
dark closet just down that quaint, winding hallway, and you'll find shelf upon shelf of Roman busts, all crammed together
in no particular order. It's really quite overwhelming!
The basement is the eeriest floor of them all; most of the window
panes are slightly yellow, and all the somber statues are bathed in an odd, sickly light. The upstairs rooms are
quite different. They served primarily as ballrooms and sitting rooms for Sir John's wife, and they're very elegant
and free of strange artifacts (although, again, the actual rooms are oddly designed). A winding staircase works its
way through the center of the house and leads to all the floors. Because nothing in the house has been touched (according
to Sir John's wishes), the whole place has such a fascinating, authentic air. I'm so glad I went! (It was free,
too! As a thank you, I donated all my pence coins to the museum. ;-))
I was feeling qutie intrepid by this point, so I decided to look for
the Geffrye Museum (recommended by my teacher). I shouldn't have been so confident in my sense of direction, though;
I quickly became completely and utterly lost, and just had to walk until I ran into a tube station. :-) At that
point, I gave up my search and headed to the Science Museum. I definitely know where that is, and I never did
get a chance to look at all the exhibits in detail.
I'm so glad I went back! I think I like the Science Museum
even more than I liked the Natural History Museum. They must've remodeled pretty recently; the museum has all sorts
of up-to-date displays, and everything is clear, easy to understand, and fascinating. Like I mentioned before, there's
a whole section of the museum dedicated to kids and hands-on experiences. I would've gone crazy there when I was younger
(and I probably still would've if I hadn't been the only adult in that area without an accompanying child).
:-) My favorite sections were the space travel rooms, the technology-through-the-ages displays, and the medicine-through-the-ages
exhibits. Wow! This is nothing like any museum I've ever visited before; everything is interactive, gigantic,
and visually stunning. What a fun way to learn! It would be so easy to homeschool a child in London.
After that, I was feeling a little tired, so I came home and ate
"Shepard's Pie" for dinner. More tomorrow!
